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Football: CU Buffs season ends with loss to Utah

Colorado goes winless at Folsom Field for first time

By Kyle Ringo Buffzone.com

Posted:
11/23/2012 05:00:59 PM MST

Updated:
11/24/2012 06:15:48 PM MST

University of Colorado's John Walker (26) is upended by Brian Blechen, (4) after making a reception during their game against Utah on Folsom Field in Boulder on Friday Nov. 23, 2012. DAILY CAMERA/ JESSICA CUNEO. (JESSICA CUNEO)

In the 15 minutes preceding the moment Colorado coach Jon Embree sat down in front of the microphone at his postgame press conference Friday, he confronted a pitiful fan shouting insults at one his freshmen, consoled his team after a hard-fought 42-35 loss to Utah and said goodbye to eight seniors.

He wiped away tears in the hallway outside the interview room, walked through the door and initially found it hard to put his thoughts into words.

After so many blowout losses this season and last, having a possible victory ripped away in the fourth quarter hurt worse than any previous loss the former CU tight end turned coach has dealt with in his two years on the job. After all, the Buffs haven't often given themselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter.

"I can't for the life of me figure out why they kicked to Reggie Dunn, but we are glad they did," Whittingham said.

Just when it looked like the Buffaloes might have saved their most complete game for the season finale against the Utes for the second straight year, they found ways to lose -- again.

CU freshman Marques Mosley tied the game at 35-35 with a beautiful 100-yard kickoff return down the east sideline for a touchdown with 8 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game. Then the CU kickoff coverage team kicked the ball to Dunn, who came into the game already in possession of the NCAA record for career kickoff returns of 100 yards or more.

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Dunn sprinted through a seam in the Buffs' 118th ranked kickoff coverage team and gave his team the lead again with a 100-yard return of his own, the fifth of his career.

"We talked about covering the kick when it was our turn," Embree said. "We had some guys that were hurt, so we had to put some other guys in there, I think two plays before. So there was a little bit of chaos obviously, and they were able to answer back."

Dunn's return ended up making all the difference because the Colorado offense led by quarterback Nick Hirschman couldn't move the ball into Utah territory on its final two possessions. The Buffs' last chance ended in Hirschman's fourth interception of the day.

Utah came into the game with four interceptions all season.

"Obviously, I turned the ball over a lot, and I put our defense in a real rough spot on three separate occasions," Hirschman said. "That's unacceptable and you can't win football games likes that. Our defense was playing amazing and I put them in a short field and I can't do that."

The loss left the Buffs at the end of the season with a 1-11 record. Many believe it's the worst season in the history of the program because it is the first time the Buffs have ever lost 11 in one season and the only time they have failed to win a home game in one season.

Now the focus switches from the issues on the field to whether the school will retain Embree for a third season to continue his rebuilding project. Embree is 4-21 in two years as the head coach of his alma mater.

If Embree is retained, it is expected he will fire defensive coordinator Greg Brown and longtime linebackers coach Brian Cabral will also leave the program, possibly retiring. It's unclear if Embree will make changes to his offensive staff or take over the play calling responsibility from offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

CU administrators and Embree did not make any announcements Friday, but some news could come as soon as today.

Against Utah, the start was ugly for the Buffs. Hirschman threw an interception on the second play from scrimmage and Trevor Reilly returned it to the CU 16-yard line. On the Utes' first offensive play of the game, quarterback Travis Wilson passed to Dres Anderson for a 16-yard touchdown.

Less than a minute had expired and the Utes led 7-0 with little effort.

The Buffs responded on their next possession by driving 75 yards in 12 plays to tie the score with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hirschman to wide receiver Nelson Spruce. It was the first CU touchdown at Folsom Field since the second quarter of the Arizona State game on Oct. 11.

The Buffs were shut out at home against Stanford and held to three points by Washington.

CU fell behind by 10 points at one point and fought back to take an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Hirschman completed 30 of 51 passes for 306 yards, but threw only the one touchdown pass.

The Buffs played one of their better games on defense, though they still proved incapable of stopping the run. Utah senior John White ran 20 times for 168 yards and the Utes gained 208 yards on the ground as a team.

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